Chang Continues Farewell Tour in (Bad) Style at Long Island, U.S. "C"-Squad Women Pummelled in New Haven

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW 
Michael Chang reached a new low on his 2003 Farewell Tour Monday at Long Island, losing with little resistance to South African qualifier Rik de Voest. The win screwed de Voest, who now can't play qualies this week for the US Open. "While I missed the chance to try for my first ever US Open, playing and beating as outstanding a player as Chang was a great opportunity," said De Voest, apparently looking for a good story to tell his grandkids. "At first, I had mixed feelings, but now that I've won, I won't mind missing the chance." Both seeds in action advanced in (3)Robredo (d. Acasuso in three) and (7)El Aynaoui (d. (Q)Verdasco 6-0 in the third). "The US Open is the only slam where I play the week before," said El Aynaoui, who likes the grub and accommodations, not to mention the power outages. "This tournament is so close to (New York) City. The conditions are perfect; the surface is the same as the Open. The hospitality here is always wonderful. The hotels, the food, everybody here is so nice." TMS-Cincy runner-up Mardy Fish pulled from L.I. Monday, with no explanation from the ATP. Nice -- keep up the good work, the old "If we don't explain, maybe no one will ask" policy, in effect for 13 years now.

On court today in L.I. are (LL)Hrbaty vs. (2)Kuerten, Bjorkman vs. Blake, (1)Srichaphan vs. Davydenko, (4)Gonzalez vs. Chela, Saretta vs. (8)Costa, (6)Calleri vs. Gambill, Corretja vs. Sargsian, Clement vs. (Q)Morrison, Vicente vs. O.Rochus, and Youzhny vs. (5)Mantilla.

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
The American "C"-squad women were on show Monday at New Haven and they didn't disappoint fan's expectations, posting an 0-5 record. Among the unseeded Yanks coming up short were (WC)Sarah Taylor (l. to Zvonareva), Meghann Shaughnessy (l. to (WC)Dokic), Laura Granville (l. to (Q)Casanova), (WC)Ashley Harkleroad returning from a two-month injury layoff (l. to (LL)Perebiynis, after Alexandra "Dr. A" Stevenson pulled with a shoulder strain), and Lisa Raymond (l. to Sugiyama). "I played well, surprisingly well," said the shocked Dokic on actually posting a win, after having lost her two previous meetings with the American. "I haven't had a great year and I lost to her quite easily the last two times we played, so I knew I had to concentrate and play well, and I did. About six months ago I wouldn't have won a match like this." The only seed in action, No. 7 Conchita Martinez, advanced with an easy win over qualifier Saori Obata.

New Haven patrons will be pleasantly surprised to see a good match on court today in Davenport vs. Dokic (though "good" is up to your definition, with Davenport leading the head-to-head 7-0), with the rest of the shaky line-up featuring Farina Elia vs. Dementieva, Tanasugarn vs. Maleeva, and Pistolesi vs. Zvonareva. That's a head-to-the-food-court line-up, or a let's-shop-for-a-$40-tournament-sweatshirt line-up.

HOT SUMMER RUNS
Andy Roddick (20-1) has become the first player to win 20 matches during the ATP North American summer hardcourt
circuit leading into the US Open since Andre Agassi went 20-0 in 1995. Coach Brad Gilbert is the only other player in the last 15 years to win at least 20 hardcourt matches going into the US Open. Roddick also became the first player to win three pre-US Open hard court titles since Patrick Rafter in 1998. Here are the players who have won at least three hardcourt titles (pre-US Open) in the last 15 years:

2003 -– Andy Roddick (Indianapolis, Montreal, Cincinnati, 20-1)
1998 -- Patrick Rafter (Toronto, Cincinnati, Long Island, 18-2)
1995 -- Andre Agassi (Washington, Montreal Cincinnati, New Haven, 20-0)
1990 -- Stefan Edberg (Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Long Island, 14-0)
1989 -- Brad Gilbert (Stratton Mountain, Livingston, Cincinnati, 21-1)

New York City's Police Officers and Firefighters/EMS Workers to Compete for Citywide Tennis Bragging Rights
The USTA announced that it has partnered with the New York City Police Department and the New York City Fire Department to host the inaugural “US Open Battle of the Badges,” a citywide competition among the top tennis players from the Finest and Bravest from each of the five boroughs. The competition features the top 32 officers from the NYPD and the top 32 firefighters and emergency medical workers from the FDNY, who began preliminary round-robin play Wednesday, August 6 at the USTA National Tennis Center. The round-robin competition within each force will determine the NYPD and FDNY players that will compete for their respective teams in the championships. The championship rounds will be contested as five-point matches and played during the 15-minute break between matches of the US Open during the first week of the tournament.

ATP TOP 10 WINNING PERCENTAGE
Andy Roddick climbs and Lleyton Hewitt falls in the Top 10 winning percentages on tour (minimum 25 matches, through Aug. 17, 2003):

# Player W-L Pct.
1. Agassi, Andre (USA) 39-7 .848
2. Federer, Roger (SUI) 58-12 .829
3. Roddick, Andy (USA) 55-13 .809
4. Ferrero, Juan Carlos (ESP) 50-12 .807
5. Coria, Guillermo (ARG) 50-13 .794
6. Hewitt, Lleyton (AUS) 30-9 .769
7. Moya, Carlos (ESP) 44-16 .733
8. Schuettler, Rainer (GER) 46-22 .677
9. Philippoussis, Mark (AUS) 28-14 .667
10. Nalbandian, David (ARG) 32-17 .653

NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
J. Wayne Richmond, ATP Executive Vice President, Americas, has announced he is leaving the ATP after 15 years to pursue other roles in the field of sports marketing (got to wonder what's behind that, since that is a big loss for the tour)...Boris Becker captured the CA Challenge in Graz, the Delta Senior Tour of Champions in Austria, defeating Mats Wilander 7-5, 6-0. In the third place play-off, Austrian Thomas Muster defeated Michael Stich 4-6, 6-4, 10-7, not exactly comeback material for the former No. 1...While Andy Roddick has ascended to No. 1 on the ATP Champions Race, he remains at a career-high No. 4 on the ATP Entry Rankings...Roger Federer has played 70 matches going into the US Open, while Lleyton Hewitt has played 39...Serena Williams' tendon surgery will likely leave her out 2-3 months, and possibly the rest of the year...Michael Chang is 2-9 on his "Farewell Tour"...Big-serving giant Ivo "I Beat Lleyton at Wimbledon" Karlovic won his second straight Challenger tournament with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Dmitri Tursunov at the Bronx Chlallenger last week...Andy Roddick is enjoying a couple days off after winning consecutive TMS titles: "I've played a lot of tennis in the last month, so it's going to be a good couple of days off now. I probably won't even touch a racket for the next two days." Enjoy the skydiving, Andy...With his effort at the TMS-Cincy, Mardy Fish will now be seeded at the US Open, and gets an extra week of rest by pulling from Long Island this week, apparently without penalty...This year is the first time since 1994 that an American woman isn't seeded in the top two at the US Open...Ashe's widow, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, Wednesday will announce the donation of her late husband's papers to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, marking the 10th anniversary of his death in 1993...Reuters on Lleyton Hewitt's girlfriend: "Clijsters has won many admirers for her demeanor and, while once she may have been referred to just as Lleyton Hewitt's girlfriend, she is now a respected force on court." Who, Lleyton's girlfriend?...The US Open singles draws will be made Wednesday at noon at the United Nations building...Thomas Enqvist playing US Open qualies, c'mon!